CHAPTER 40 —Uncontained
Carolyn
For a long time after the tears stopped, I simply stood there. The alley felt quiet again, almost ordinary, a thin beam of pale morning light spilled between the buildings, shining across the cracked pavement like a narrow path that led nowhere.
My face felt stiff from dried tears, my eyes burned slightly, swollen from crying harder than I had in years. I wiped my cheeks one last time and drew in a slow breath, the air still smelled faintly of wet brick, stale coffee, and old rainwater.
The heaviness in my chest hadn’t disappeared, it sat there like a stone. I pushed away from the wall and straightened slowly, my legs felt weak from sitting so long on the cold ground.
“Get it together,” I murmured quietly, my voice sounded rough, no longer broken, just
